How I Learned to Love Classical Studies: Information Behavior Studies and Digital Humanities Dr. June Abbas School of Library and Information Studies University of Oklahoma Presented to Digital Humanities @ OU Day III September 9, 2016

Partners The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Society for Classical Studies Medieval Academy of America Renaissance Society of America The University of Oklahoma University of Oklahoma Libraries

Mission To facilitate the finding and, where openly available and accessible online, the reading of all texts written in Latin To publish and curate critical editions of Latin texts, of all types, from all eras, and to facilitate an ongoing scholarly conversation about these texts through open collaboration and annotation

Tools or Methods Enabling the Digital Nature of the Project Drupal CMS Custom metadata harvesting module Custom entity linking module TEI XML Data visualization and analysis Improvise Desktop tools built by CS GRAs

Information behavior Provide researchers, system designers with a picture of the user group(s)’ behaviors, information needs, tasks, interactions, and processes while using systems and other resources to satisfy information needs or to develop new knowledge. Usually to accomplish a specific set of tasks or activities. Can be part of user-centered design process Inform development of interfaces, underlying data model for system architecture, metadata schema, interface design to support user tasks.

IB Study in DLL The IB study for the DLL was designed with specific goals in mind: Gain a greater understanding about the information behavior of the 3 user groups (Latin scholars, graduate students, and high school teachers who teach Latin) Determine the work process of scholars who edit a critical edition or create a commentary Determine how the three user groups use critical editions/apparatus in their scholarship, teaching, and other activities Outline the print and digital resources used by the three user groups, the reasons for use Issues encountered when using resources Features liked/disliked/essential Elicit ideas for DLL catalog design, LDLT and DLL features and desired functionality of difference systems within the DLL

Method Three methods used in the study Sample In depth interviews with user groups Task demonstration of their use of digital and print resources Task Diary kept for 2-3 weeks of scholarly activities and resource use Sample 16 total participants: 10 scholars, 3 PhD students, and 3 high school teachers Sample is a purposive sample determined by Dr. Huskey but then email invitations sent to participants. Sample includes scholars and PhD students from US and abroad and high school teachers from OKC Metro area Interviews conducted Oct. 2014-Jan. 2015 at 3 universities in the US

Data analysis

Outcomes Use of digital tools by three user groups Information seeking behaviors/work (task) analysis Searching strategies Resources used What is necessary in metadata in library catalog? Usability of digital tools What issues do they encounter when using library catalogs and other digital tools? Features analysis What aspects of digital tools they use are useful/not useful/frustrating What is missing from digital tools they use that we should include in the components of the DLL?

Outcomes cont. Changes to Critical apparatus/critical edition Features in Reading Room/Sandbox Features encoded in the digital critical edition/apparatus Content Features/Additions Functionality/Display/Navigation Process of developing critical edition/apparatus Decisions of editors while developing CE

Task Resources Used DLL Component Supports in DLL Choose Author/Work Library Catalogs Online Databases Personal Collections Personal Network DLL Catalog Metadata in DLL catalog to support choice Author and Work records showing all previous editions of Work Author and Work records showing all manuscripts of Work Bibliographies of commentaries, articles, etc. Locate manuscripts and editions Online Databases/Websites/ Repositories Personal collections Collation Manuscripts Previous editions Commentaries Scholarly Articles LDLT editions Visualization Tools Research Tools Published digital critical editions Review variants across manuscripts Morphological analysis tools, dictionary, Plesaides Review/prune collation table Collation table Manuscripts, Editions, etc.

Develop the Stemma Collation table Manuscripts, Editions, etc. LDLT editions Visualization Tools Research Tools Published digital critical editions Review variants across manuscripts Morphological analysis tools, dictionary, Plesaides Move from Archetypal text (Point A) to original (Point B) Manuscripts Previous editions Commentaries Scholarly Articles Reconstruct Text to use in critical edition Manuscripts, editions, etc. Synthesize/Put together the Critical Apparatus Refining the Text and Critical Apparatus Critical Apparatus Develop Preface and Conspectus   Compile Introduction All sources used by Editor but mostly editor’s judgement

Outcomes cont. Catalog record changes Include the elements already in library catalogs More in depth date/time period metadata Provenance More in depth info about the manuscript (i.e. illuminator, scribe, status) Name of all works in an anthology Links to related bibliographies Audience level Educational standards Links to all available editions and commentaries (in and out of copyright) Classification of author by type of work (epic poet)

DLL Works Content Type Model Library catalog (MARC) element Dublin Core element URI identifier Author (link to authority record-URI) creator Other contributors (e.g. scribes, illuminator) contributors Title Title; hasPart (talk to Sam more) Date (can be original date of MS or publication) date; dateSubmitted Publisher (if applicable) publisher Format format; medium? Physical description description; extent Note (perhaps Location/Provenance note if MS, status note, colophon, transmission history, etc.) coverage; source; provenance; description; abstract Language language Copyright statement rights; rightsholder; license;accessRights *Subject (most users did not use this element) *Genre (part of Subject but in this case can be used as Literary form) subject; type Link to external Manuscript item record(s) (repeatable) relation; isVersionOf Link to digital copy(ies) of Manuscript (if available) relation; isFormatOf; hasFormat Link to internal/external Edition(s) item record(s) (repeatable)??? relation; isVersionOf; hasVersion Link to LDLT edition (if available) *Link to DLL Bibliography relation  

Digital Latin Library Social media campaign underway Informational site launched in June/July 2015 User behavior studies completed Prototyping of visualization tools in progress CMS infrastructure in development Custom Drupal modules developed, now in testing Prototyping of DLL Catalog in July/October 2016 Beta of DLL Catalog in Fall 2016

Contact us at: June Abbas, Co-PI (user study and DLL Catalog) jmabbas@ou.edu Sam Huskey, PI (anything related to Latin stuff, encoding of digital critical apparatus, project vision, overview, etc.) huskey@ou.edu Chris Weaver, Co-PI (visualization tools) weaver@cs.ou.edu